FRANKLIN, Ky. (Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021) — The FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs is celebrating the region’s heritage on both sides of the border with distinctive trophies for the owners of its major races.
The winning owners of Kentucky Downs’ six graded-stakes races, including five today, and Sunday’s closing-day Nelson’s Green Brier Whiskey Music City Stakes will receive a unique trophy that reflects the one-of-a-kind racetrack and its proximity to Nashville: A guitar signed by country-music legend and entertainment mogul Reba McEntire.
As she has throughout her Country Music Hall of Fame career, the guitars are signed “Love, Reba.” A plaque with the winning horse’s name and ownership will be mounted on the guitar.
Saluting Kentucky’s bourbon industry, the owners of stakes and allowance races will receive a commemorative bottle of the bourbon or Tennessee whiskey of the day, personalized as being from Kentucky Downs.
The trophies will be earned a month in advance of the Oct. 8 release of McEntire’s three-part box set REVISED REMIXED REVISITED, a reimagined collection of some of McEntire most iconic songs and must-have for music enthusiasts of all genres. (Pre-orders available now.)
Having a guitar trophy autographed by a music icon began last year with LNJ Foxwoods receiving one signed by George Strait after Lighthouse captured the first running of the Music City Stakes.
“Being right on the state line, we wanted to highlight the heritage of the region,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs’ Vice President for Racing. “The richest meet in America celebrates Kentucky’s rich tradition of horses and bourbon while also acknowledging industry Nashville’s renowned artists and music. Reba McEntire as our 2021 trophy honoree follows George Strait as a country-music superstar performer who also has ties to horse racing. We’re honored and thankful for Reba’s participation this year. We look forward to our guitars becoming the most coveted trophies in racing.”
Today’s graded stakes are the $1 million Calumet Turf Cup (G2), $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint (G3), $750,000 Calumet Bourbon Ladies Turf (G3), $600,000 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Franklin-Simpson for 3-year-old sprinters and the $600,000 Keeneland Mint Ladies Sprint (G3). International powerhouse Godolphin also will receive a McEntire-signed guitar with a personalized plate for Pixelate’s victory in the $1 million WinStar Mint Million on Labor Day.
Trainer Joe Orseno is hoping that owners Breeze Easy LLC come away with a McEntire trophy after defending champion Imprimis runs in today’s FanDuel Turf Sprint.
“Hey, that’s great,” Orseno said. “If it gets people enthused about it, that’s fantastic. I actually trained a couple of horses for Reba years ago.”
The meet’s signature bourbons/whiskey of the day: Jefferson’s Ocean (Sept. 5), Angel’s Envy (Sept. 6), Heaven Hill (Sept. 8), Elijah Craig (Sept. 9), Calumet Bourbon (Sept. 11) and Nelson’s Green Brier Whiskey (Sept. 12).
About Reba McEntire:
Multi-media entertainment mogul Reba McEntire has become a household name through a successful career that spans across music, television, film, theater and retail. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Hollywood Bowl member has won 16 ACM Awards, 15 American Music Awards, 9 People’s Choice Awards, 6 CMA Awards, 3 GRAMMY® Awards, a GMA Dove Award and was a 2018 Kennedy Center Honors recipient, in addition to multiple philanthropic and leadership honors. Reba has celebrated unprecedented success including 35 career No.1 singles and selling over 56 million albums worldwide. Reba recently earned her 60th Top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, extending her record for the most Top 10 hits among female artists. Reba’s Top 10 success spans across five straight decades and lands her alongside only George Jones, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton in the achievement. The Oklahoma native and Golden Globe® nominated actress has 11 movie credits to her name, a lead role on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun and starred in the six-season television sitcom Reba. Her brand partnerships include Dillard’s, REBA by Justin™ and she was named the first female and musician to portray KFC’s iconic founder Colonel Harland Sanders in their celebrity colonel campaign. Last year, Reba launched her very first Spotify original podcast, Living & Learning with Reba McEntire, with guests including Dolly Parton, Leslie Jordan, Kristin Chenoweth and more as they explore a variety of topics including aging, cancel culture, dating and more. Reba recently released “Somehow You Do,” written by Diane Warren, and featured in the motion picture “Four Good Days” starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis.
Kentucky Downs Release
Universal Music Group Nashville Photo
